* indicates a fan submitted question
| Q.: *Transcribing: If you had to pick ten solos to transcribe, each one increasing in difficulty, what would they be? |
| A.:
There are so many amazing solos out there that it's really hard to go wrong. I would recommend learning any solo (or chorus, or phrase, or lick) that you find compelling. If it speaks to you, if it moves you, if you dig it, then by all means transcribe it. And you may find that the actual process of transcription is just as important as what, or who, you choose to transcribe. I would also recommend, wherever possible, trying to learn solos by ear and memory, without actually writing them down (transcribing without the "scribing"), as well as learning them in multiple keys. Now, there are hundreds and hundreds (thousands!) of solos that I love, by musicians of virtually every conceivable instrument, era and genre. So for every one that I have listed here, there are countless others that I could (and probably should!) have mentioned. You'll notice that for the sake of focus (and sanity!) I have restricted myself to solos by some of the most influential jazz tenor saxophonists and from recordings made within a roughly 40 year period (late 30s to late 60s), often regarded as a classic, or "golden" period for mainstream jazz. But you should by all means seek out as much material as you can from other eras; and I especially encourage you to learn solos played on instruments other than your own. Please note as well that I have NOT listed these solos in order of their difficulty, but instead have arranged them according to a somewhat arbitrary stylistic chronology (based loosely on the different soloists' places in the evolution of the jazz tenor saxophone language, as opposed to actual recording dates). After all, when it comes to learning solos, "difficulty" can be a rather relative and subjective concept. The Dewey Redman solo, for example, might seem fairly straightforward to transcribe from a melodic and harmonic standpoint, since much of it is based on a "simple" G blues scale. But try to master all the nuances of tone, inflection, rhythm, phrasing, feeling . . . well . . . that could take a lifetime! OK, all that being said, here are ten great jazz tenor solos that happen to be personal favorites of mine: Coleman Hawkins: "Body And Soul" (from pretty much every Coleman Hawkins collection) Lester Young: "Shoe Shine Boy" (from most collections of Pres' early works) Ben Webster: "Where Are You" (from "Soulville") Stan Getz: "Pennies From Heaven" (from "Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio." Also check out the one from the "Live At Stortyville" recording) Dexter Gordon: "2nd Balcony Jump" (from "Go") Sonny Rollins: "St. Thomas" (from "Saxophone Colossus." Then be sure to check out the bootleg one from "In Sweden, 1959") John Coltrane: "Crescent" (from "Crescent") Wayne Shorter: "Fee Fie Fo Fum" (from Speak No Evil) Joe Henderson: "Passion Dance" (from McCoy Tyner's "The Real McCoy") Dewey Redman: "Boody" (from "Ear Of The Behearer") |
